![“When you’re [getting ready] to sell, you need to make it feel fresh, so we’re not gonna use your grandma’s old couch. It’s about making the space feel spacious and fresh,](https://metrous.s3.us-east-2.amazonaws.com/HOM_PropertyBrothers_0108-614x540.jpg)
Credit: HGTV
Don’t get personal
“The big thing that people don’t take into consideration is that you need to look at your home without emotion and you need to look at it through the eyes of a buyer.” That means not only your family pictures, but also your angel collection (or other knick-knacks) need to go. When you’re staging a home, tchotchkes are not inviting to your visitors, who are envisioning themselves living in your house.
Choose the right furniture
The right furniture meshes well with the design of the room, Scott says. So that IKEA couch you’ve held onto since college may not be best in a more elegant space. No need to replace all your stuff though: “You can rent furniture pieces relatively inexpensively for a short term to make the place look better,” he says.
Move things around
In addition to knowing what kind of furniture works best for a room, you also need to know where it works best. “When you walk into a room, obviously you want it to feel welcoming,” Scott says, “so if you walk in and you’re tripping over a couch right away, that’s a good indication that’s not a good place for a couch.” Scott also applies this rule to decluttering: Too many knick-knacks and pieces of art can make a room look smaller.
Paint a fresh coat
Lighter colors will make rooms appear larger, but you want to infuse imagination into your design choices. “Everyone hears the phrase ‘do taupe, that’s what buyers want,’” he says. “That is not want buyers want. It’s boring and there’s no imagination.” Try a modern gray with pops of color in accent pillows and throws, he suggests. “You have to add some element of design for buyers to see the potential because buyers don’t have an imagination — they need you to spell it out for them.”
Change up your lighting
A fresh coat of paint and adequate lighting can transform a drab room. “Having a well-lit room actually does make it feel bigger, and that’s very important,” Scott says, “especially in basements or areas of the home that don’t have a lot of natural light.”
Do smart renovations
If you think that doing a major renovation to your kitchen or bathroom will help sell your home quicker, think again: The buyer is likely to see one remodeled room and others that aren’t. Spread out your renovation money, Scott advises, tackling little repairs here and there. “Buyers focus on the negative — they don’t focus on the positive,” he says. “So as much as you spent all this money on the bathroom and kitchen, they’re gonna see [the] old.”
Get more advice from Drew on Twitter @mrdrewscott, and follow Meredith Engel on Twitter @meredithatmetro.
